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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Blog Tour: Are You Ready to Embrace?

Welcome to my stop on the tour! I loved this book and definitely can't wait to read more! Check out the awesome guest post, my review, and giveaway I've got today!

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- The Book -

Synopsis:It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…”

Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to
get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your
mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her
sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo
weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before.

Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have
prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love
with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh,
and same goes for her.

A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of
humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want,
but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When
angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot
worse than betting on Violet Eden…

Jessica Shirvington lives in Australia,
where the first three books in THE VIOLET EDEN CHAPTERS (Also called THE
EMBRACE SERIES depending on what region you live in) are already in
print.

The first book in the series, EMBRACE, has
just landed in the US. The second book, ENTICED, will arrive in the US
in September 2012. The fourth book in the series, ENDLESS, will hit
Australian bookshelves in October 2012.

At 17, life
is about new experiences. It is about self-discovery, friends, adventure,
mistakes, career and university choices. And let’s be honest, there are not
many 17 year olds out there that aren’t interested in
falling in love.

But how
many are truly interested in falling in love with THE ONE at 17?

I’m not
sure I was. In fact, I probably wasn’t. I was planning to take the world by
storm – solo. So when I met Matt, well, actually … it was pretty darn amazing.
But it was a little frightening too.

When we
first got together, it was sweet and young and … perfect. I was head over
heels. But things became complicated quickly. He was an up and coming athletic
star and I was working in hospitality. So basically he worked hard in the day,
and I worked hard at night. His lifestyle demanded routine and healthy living,
mine … not so much. But we were determined to make it work.

Falling in
love so deeply at a young age made it difficult to be as reckless as our
friends. We watched them coast in and out of short, fun, but meaningless
relationships and it just seemed so different to what we had.

Writing the
Embrace series has been an opportunity for me to pour some of the incredibly
intense emotions of young love into Violet’s story. It has been important for
me as a writer, and a person, to recognize that it’s completely realistic for
someone at her young age to experience the full effect and heartbreak of love.
Violet is one hundred percent invested with her heart. She makes bad choices,
but we have to. She regrets many of her decisions, because we all do. And she
fights for what she loves, because she is compelled to. Violet’s story is
unique to her, I don’t pull on parallel scenarios from my own life, but I do
pull on the emotion of intense love. Love that I think adults sometimes forget
that 17 and 18 years-olds are very capable of feeling.

I often
find one question helps a lot of adults, who maybe disagree with this view, to
be more open minded: Do you remember you first true love? Do you ever wonder
what your life would’ve been like if you had stayed together? For some, the
answer is a resounding NOT INTERESTED, but for others … the pause says it all.

Matt and I
celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary in March - I believe jewelry is in order
;)

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- Review -

Embrace is a completely unique angel story. And, I'm sure you haven't read anything like it. When I got Embrace my first thoughts were "Ohh, heavenly!" but honestly Embrace is the completely opposite. It's thrilling and emotional in almost a dark way and I adored it.

I want to read this book so so much! *sigh* I fell in love at the age of 16. I'm 21 now and have been with my boyfriend for nearly 6 years. This post just reminded me of all the ups and downs we went through and how everyone was basically against us, telling us we'd never make our high school love last until. With each passing year, I always have the urge to tell those people they were wrong and still are.

In other words, I totally completely and utterly agree with Jessica! Yay for her and Matt! May their love be as strong as ever <3 :)

About Me

Jena

Hi! I'm 25 yrs old and currently a special education IA! I love to read, listen to music, and take pictures. I'm obsessed with coffee, animals, working out, and the ocean. I have blonde hair, green eyes, and I'm 5'1". If you have any questions, ask! :)